Osprey Build

[memaquay]

Finally did the rough sanding of the inside, it takes a lot of mental fortitude to do the inside. Hopefully give it the final sanding tonight and glass sometime this week. Crack filled too.



Glued up the gunwales last week, decided to go with some oak I had, as the birch would have required several scarf joints.



Once the fiberglassing is done, I'll be bringing it home to my garage, then things will go quickly, I'll be able to work on it for a bit every day. Think I'll paint the inside red again.

 

[Guest]

You're such a perfectionist. But, I'm lov'n it. Sanding...yuck. Ya gotta do, what ya gotta do. I can't get over how thin that shell looks. Sweet.

 

[stripperguy]

mem,

That looks completely different from the Kite!
I guess I didn't pay close attention...I knew you were building at the school, but somehow I didn't put two and two together. I suppose once you get it home, it will be much easier to put in those necessary hours.
BTW, it's looking pretty good. Are you getting anxious to use it??

 

[latremorej]

Mem, is that wood glue or epoxy filling in the cracks?

 

[memaquay]

New type of filler, comes in a squeeze tube, in a variety of colours. Very nice to work with, and fairly easy to sand. Open water will probably be around end of May, so should be ready by then.

 

[memaquay]

Found time to glass tonight. I don't like to roll out a whole sheet and glass it all in. Instead, I use five foot sections, I find this much easier to work out any imperfections, plus I like the six inch overlap between the two pieces.


Took me about three hours, which is quite long. The silver tip is more viscous than the clear coat, so it takes a little longer for penetration. Used exactly one gallon resin, half gallon hardner for this canoe, it was right down to the last drop.



Gonna let it set up for a few days, and then move it home to the garage on the weekend.

 

[stripperguy]

One and a half gallons! That's almost what I used, but much of mine was converted to sanding dust on the floor.
So what's next? Gunnels and seat...Do you use any sort of bulkhead? You'll be in the water before me for sure!!

 

[memaquay]

Next will be painting the interior, then gunwales. No bulkheads, very small decks, grab handles, two thwarts, seat and carrying yoke. Then install brass stem bands and 3 or 4 coats of varnish on outside. I'm wrapping up a couple of other big projects on Monday, so I'll have more time, hope to have it done by open water, probably end of third week of May. No idea about weight yet, but not expecting it to shy away from the desert table.

 

[memaquay]

Moved it home today and painted the inside. Think I will need one more coat before the gunwales go on.

First pic is looking from the bow, second one is from the stern.

 

[latremorej]

Looks good! Thanks for posting!

 

[Mihun09]

That would be bright first thing in the morning!

 

[Hanz]

Nice progress!!!

I like the red interior. Looks great.

 

[memaquay]

Put in the inhale and two thwarts tonight. Worked till after dark, so pics are lousy, lighting in garage is minimal. This is looking from bow down


And this is a profile of the bow.


Tomorrow night I hope to put in two small decks and grab handles. Still don't know if I will build a new seat or use one from one of my derelicts. Going to canabalize brass stem bands from one of my dead canoes. Osprey looks fairly ugly right now, but once it gets around 16 degrees C, I'm going to varnish it and that will bring it to life. Hope the temperature change happens before June!

 

[memaquay]

Put most of the trim on tonight, decks, grab handles, outwales, only need to make a seat tomorrow. Hoping to get some varnish on it this weekend, although if the lakes open up, got a canoe trip planned.


Outside gunwale going on.



Getting there!



Only missing seat now!

 

[memaquay]

Built my seat yesterday, made it extra large and used 1 inch stock cause me arse has gotten so big this winter. In fact, if I don't lose weight soon, I'm going to be forced into being an "ultralight" tripper in terms of gear. My normal gear combined with my weight is gonna put me pretty low in the water.

Weighed it tonight too, came in at 48 pounds, which feels incredibly light for me, lightest canoe I have. Probably put another couple of pounds on it when I install the brass stem bands and varnish the exterior. Temp's on Monday is supposed to be 15 C, the magic number for the lowest temp for successful varnishing.

 

[Robin]

So I guess that scale on the floor was used to weigh the canoe....lets see, "352lbs minus 304lbs equals 48lbs" haha, nice looking canoe.

 

[red langford]

So I guess that scale on the floor was used to weigh the canoe....lets see, "352lbs minus 304lbs equals 48lbs" haha, nice looking canoe.

Ouch, get the burn kit!

 

[Mihun09]

Are you using the flush fit washers that Lee Valley sells for the machine screws in the rails? I used those once and really like them, much better than the cup washers I get when I buy seat hanging kits from local paddle stores.

 

[Rippy]

Are you using the flush fit washers that Lee Valley sells for the machine screws in the rails? I used those once and really like them, much better than the cup washers I get when I buy seat hanging kits from local paddle stores.

Local paddle stores. Wow, what a concept. You're just kidding right? In most of the world there is no such thing as a local paddle store, much less plural. I'm trying to weigh that against the snow and cold that comes with the "local paddle stores". It's tough to think about it.

For a mid westerner I'm lucky, I only have to travel one state away to get to a real paddle shop but it's a good one (Rutabaga).

 

[memaquay]

Ha ha, our local paddle store is a very unique hardware store in town. It's an old fashion general store, run by a family. Each family member has an area of specialty. They've taught me how to do plumbing, electrical work, and a bunch of other stuff. Make sure you have an hour when ever you go there.

I'm not sure what you are referring to Mihun, all I used was common wood screws and regular carriage bolts for joining everything. Counter sunk everything.

Robin, you methodology is correct, but I haven't reached those lofty numbers……..yet. My wife keeps feeding me like I'm a bush worker slinging trees around all day, when in reality, the hardest exercise i do is bending over to tie my shoes. However, going to get my big 20 footer out today and go fishing, should be a shock to the system when I pick up that 100 pound beast.